Why must you idle?

I have worked for companies where the truck will not start after only a couple of hours of the cooler running. In fact, if they found out the cooler was the reason for a jump, guess who paid?

If it bothers you so much, move or get out of the business. It is your choice to idle, it is theirs as well.

Before you go ballistic, I do not idle. I buy the fuel, maintain the truck. It is my choice.

 

LMAO...good point

 

2. I need to run my marker lights, cause you dumb steering-wheel-holders like to run into the cars that are overhanging on my rig.dumb steering wheel holds can hit you in brawd day lit. So this one is not flying.

The majority of incidents I've been involved in, have been at night, when I was shut down with my lights off. I have seen then do it in day lite. Saw one guy hit the same trailer 10 times. belonged to the company he was working for.

3. Cause when you hit a car that is on my rig, you keep going, and I have to chase you, I dont need to see triple digits on a cold motor.try dialing 911. With or without the proper indentifiying information?Hopefully with the numbers. But doesn't matter, first time you have an accedent chasing some one you will have allot bigger problems then some Dh running off.

4. Because, when I stop my truck on a 70* day, the cab will quickly get to 90 when shut off, as I have 4tons of drivetrain that is 200* under me and it heats the cab up.Open the windows, it will cool of. You can also open the hood and let that heat out. Find a shade tree, and sit on a lit Bar B Que grill...and get back with me on that.
Been doing it for years. Works just fine.
5. Cause I dont want my windows open for security reasons.Get some breezeway screens. You will be as secure as with the windows open and save fuel. A simple push pops them right out. Why not hang a sign on the door?Not if you put them in right. A hammer and your window is gone, a hanger and your door pops open. So why even bother.

6. Cause I like global warming, i want summer all year round.Guess you also like unnecessary laws and rules. In the free sector of America, there are no laws forbidding this (idling).22 states and growing. problem could be the yahoo's who won't shut down in nice weather.

7. Because I dont pay for fuel.and as a STEERWHEEL HOLDING IDIOT, I have no pride in my profession. I won't even bother with this one.

 

cars overhang on the rear and front of my truck. 3 feet in the front 4 feet in the back.

They always get the front car, as they turn out of their spots, I am already sticking out, as I am 82feet when at legal overhang, 88feet if I am running stretched. So they turn out, and clip the car over the hood with their trailers.



K

 

Why must I Idle
One to keep all my food cool in the fridge
two. Starters never go out while your at the yard.
There is no feeling like not being able to start your truck and it WONT start.
Once I have started mine I will not shut if off until I am back at the yard or in the bay at the the truck wash. Yes I idle while fueling too....sux when there is a line of trucks waiting to fuel and you cant start yours to move it off the fuel island.

 

Not sure about the opti-idle on other trucks, but I went through 5 starters in the 5 months I had the Volvo I ran with Swift that had it. Plus that starting and stopping all the time was hard to get used to, sleep-wise. It eventually wore the wiring for the starter bare in 3 spots, which promptly wreaked havoc in 3 more starters.

 

Insulation on wires will not wear through by running current through them. (Electrons do not produce that kind of friction as they travel over the wires)

What will cause bare spots in the wire is rubbing against another surface frequently. Still a serious design flaw, but has little to do with repeated start cycles. If anything, the continuous vibration of the engine running accelerated the wear of the insulation on the wires, however slight.

Did the mechanic eventually figure out to wrap the problematic wires to increase the time between failures? If not, you could easily do it yourself to decrease your downtime.

To idle or not, is up to the individual, and as I am not out there trucking, I will abstain from that argument.

 

Gee thanks, wouldn't have been able to figure that out myself, what with being an Interior Comms Electrician in the Navy and all....

Ok, I don't know what engines are in the truck you are driving, but in the ones I have driven the engine sure shakes a LOT more when starting up or shutting down then during normal running. Course, running down the road causes alot of shaking too. But starting up/shutting down 4 or so times an hour can't be good for an engine.

I'm not saying that the wiring problem was directly related to the Opti-idle anyway. But I'm pretty sure that it had something to do with the rate I went through starters. Course, that truck might have had other electrical problems that caused the starters to burn out, it WAS a Volvo after all.

Only thing they told me they did was replaced the wiring. Think they routed it a bit differently too. By the time they got it fixed I just wanted to get rolling again and my DM kept telling me I was getting a newer truck soon, so just hang on to that one for a few weeks longer. Thought they were selling it so I wasn't exactly highly motivated to making sure the truck was in tip-top shape.

 

Easy, now; I have no way of knowing what your background is. Most people seem to be confused by the switches on the dash, never mind actually opening the hood. Looks like you are not one of these types. Good for you; there needs to be more people with practical skills out there. It seems to be a skill set we have lost in the last two generations.

I don't doubt the truck had wiring issues, I've read a fair amount of Volvo horror stories on here. As for the starters, I agree that frequent starting would wear them faster, but I'm no electrician, so I don't know by how much.

In either case (starters & wiring), Volvo certainly could use some improvement in their electrical engineering department.

 

No worries, I forgot to add the smiley at the end. Kidding and sarcasm don't come through well in typing.

Funny thing was I did think of a way that current can burn insulation after posting that, but I'm pretty sure that drawing that many amps wasn't the problem.

Anyway, sorry if I came across as being a jerk, wasn't my intention!